I Still Need You
by lizzierae
Summary: The boys are 18 now, and Mrs. Knight believes it's time for her, like every parent, to leave them on their own in LA. The boys of course disagree-they still need her. Growing up sucks sometimes. Dedicated to everyone who's leaving/left their loving mamas and daddies for the "real world"!


_So, hi! It's been a while. (: Wellll, some of you know I graduated high school this year and will be going away to college in about two weeks. As the day keeps getting closer and closer, I've realized that I'm seriously gonna miss my mommy. (Yeah—I can admit it!) My mom raised me and my brothers and sister all on her own, and I know I'm still gonna need her when I leave, and probably for the rest of my life. But we all have to grow up someday and leave our parents. So, I thought about how the boys might respond to Mrs. Knight finally leaving them on their own in LA._

_I hope you all enjoy!_

_I don't own anything you may recognize._

It was the day they'd all been waiting for.

Kendall paced throughout the night, wondering , silently, if he really could do this. His brain refused to shut up, even if he _wanted_ to go to bed. But, in truth, he didn't. He wasn't sure whether or not he was totally okay with this. And it seemed like, if he didn't go to bed, he wouldn't have to deal with the following day at all. But it was inevitable now. She was leaving—and he still needed her.

As a result of Kendall's restlessness, Logan didn't get any sleep the previous night either. But it wasn't like he would have anyway—he'd been thinking way too much for that. He'd always been able to handle the situations life threw at him, and get the boys out of trouble. But was he ready for her to leave, and leave him with all that responsibility? All that pressure? He still needed her, too.

Carlos cried and cried silently throughout the night, falling asleep every so often, only to be woken up once again by a horrible dream. A dream that seemed like reality—because it _was_ reality. He dreamed of all the different scenarios of life without her. Would the boys be okay? It was so scary, each of the dreams, because he knew he still needed her, too.

While Carlos tried his hardest to keep his cries silent, James still heard them. And while the boy would have been absolutely furious about not getting his beauty sleep in any other situation, this time was different. Carlos was in tears. And while James would have normally gotten up and been the comforting best friend he knew Carlos needed right now, he couldn't do that either. This time was different. He was upset, too. And while he normally wasn't a big thinker, James thought of how much he still needed her, too.

They all _needed _their Mama Knight.

It was a little childish, if the boys really thought about it. It was childish for them, four 18-year-olds, who have had careers since they were 16-years-old, to be acting this way. But at the same time, it was all necessary. Mrs. Knight was not only their honorary mother—she was _home_. Whenever they missed good ol' Minnesota, they always had Mama Knight to tell them stories of when they were children, bake them her delicious snicker doodles, and cheer them on throughout even their toughest times.

And now she was leaving them. She had packed up her things, along with Katie's, and declared that they were moving back home, because the boys didn't need her anymore.

But they did need her.

As Mrs. Knight gave the boys their last home-cooked breakfast—complete with everyone's favorite breakfast foods—the boys barely said a word. Not only because of their lack of sleep, but because of their soon-to-be loss of a mother. They were nearly brokenhearted.

"Mom?" Kendall finally spoke, being the first of the four boys to do so all morning.

Mrs. Knight looked up responded, "Yes, sweetie?"

Kendall saw the look in his mother's eyes. It was a look of hope, hope that he still needed her for one last thing, before her baby boy was out in the world all on his own. But Kendall knew she was right in her departure. He knew she couldn't help him forever. But that didn't mean he didn't need her still, because he _did _still need her. He needed his mother.

"Never mind…" the boy chickened out at the last second.

Logan, sitting next to his blond best friend, let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in. He knew Kendall wanted to ask his mother to please, please, _please_ stay, just like the other three boys did, but it wasn't the right thing to do.

Mrs. Knight's look of hope disappeared, and she tried to cover it up with a strong smile as she replied, "Okay, honey." The mother wanted to stay with her boys so badly, but knew it was time. Every parent has to say goodbye eventually—now was her time.

Three hours later, everything was packed and ready to go. Mrs. Knight and Katie were saying their final goodbyes to the boys.

Kendall held onto Katie tight and gave her a final forehead kiss. This was the first time since she was born that Kendall would be without his baby sister for more than just a weekend. "I love you, baby sister. Take care," he told the 12-year-old.

Katie wiped away a tear as she nodded. Her big brother had always been there for her, been the father figure she never had, due to their own father's abandonment. Leaving Kendall was like losing a second father.

Kendall wiped away the tears that kept falling from his sister's face. "Don't be sad, okay? I'm gonna come home and visit you guys as soon as I can. And I'm gonna make sure you come back here and visit me, too. Don't give up those crazy dreams of yours, kid."

Katie laughed, "I won't. I love you, Big Brother."

Kendall smiled, "I love you, too, Baby Sister."

One final hug set the two apart.

The four boys stepped aside and Mrs. Knight gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. "Be good," she told them. "I love you all."

That was it for Carlos. He couldn't handle it anymore. He burst into tears and held onto Mrs. Knight for dear life.

"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US!" he cried.

This caused the rest of the boys to let go of their own guards and also beg the mother to stay.

"Please, please, please don't leave us, Mama Knight!" the boys begged.

"Boys, boys, boys," Mrs. Knight attempted to calm them down. She eventually got them to sit on the bright orange couch she'd always hated. "You're going to be just fine without me, all right? You're adults now, and you have each other."

"But, Mom," Kendall pleaded, "We still need you. _I _still need you. _Please_."

Mrs. Knight let a tear roll down her cheek before replying, "And I still need you. And I love you so, _so_ much. But it's time for you guys to be on your own. If you need anything, I'm just a phone call away, all right?"

The mother gave each of the boys her final hugs and kisses, and she and Katie were gone.

_Growing up sucks_, each of the boys thought at that very moment. But leaving your parents, being on your own, that was what they had to do. And someday, if they were lucky enough, they would be as good as Mrs. Knight at parenting. Maybe.

But even then, _they'd still need her_.


End file.
